For Her
by sunnyamazing
Summary: Five parts, five pieces of the puzzle. Five reactions, five sets of questions. Five actions completed for her. Five ways, the family and friends of Kate Beckett cope after Knockout. Five chapters for her and one chapter about her. Part Six: Kate Beckett.
1. Part One: The Two of Them

_A glimmer behind a gravestone,_

_a warning that came too late._

_The sound of a gunshot,_

_the sight of her falling._

**For Her**

**Part One: The Two of Them**

Neither of them speaks as they exit the elevator, it's not that they don't want to, it's that they don't know what to say. There doesn't seem to be the right words, or even enough words, so they both revel in the silence.

The two of them look up, they turn to take in the room that they have entered, this is their domain, it is where the two of them have spent so much time. They've laughed here; they've fought here, hell, even one of them proposed here. But today it is different; today each of them can feel eyes staring at them, questioning eyes, wanting answers that neither of one of them knows.

Most of their immediate colleagues were at the funeral, they saw what happened, they know the painful details, but the rest, they stand there, looking, staring, waiting for a reaction.

News travels fast in this city, but news of a cop being shot travels faster and considering who was shot – the news has spread like a wildfire.

Everyone knows Beckett, she's the homicide cop who you'd want solving your murder. She's fiercely intelligent and as brave as anyone that they have ever known. This year she'd almost frozen to death – but still, in their eyes she didn't seem to flinch. She'd still stopped a bomb, she'd saved lives and she'd solved the murder.

She's the cop that takes on everyone, but today she'd been the one that was taken on. Someone hurt her and both of them know that everyone in this precinct wants this person caught and dealt with. No one more than the two of them.

It's Esposito that speaks first; he tells their colleagues that Beckett has been taken to hospital.

It's Ryan, who tells them that they'd been unable to track the gunman at the cemetery. That they'd been too slow, or that he had been too organized, too methodical, too clever in his planning, so as to avoid capture – for now.

It's Esposito, who tells them that the best thing their colleagues', can all do now is their jobs – that is what Beckett would want.

It's Ryan, who tells them that they will be kept updated, that he will call the precinct as soon as they know more information.

But, it is only the two of them that excuse themselves and enter Montgomery's office.

It is the two of them that lock the door and close the blinds.

And it is the two of them, together, that search the office for clues.

It is Ryan and Esposito, together, reading file after file. She'd told them to check everything and then when they were done, to check it again and that is what they will do.

They aren't doctors, they aren't nurses, they can't mend wounds, or sew skin back together – they are cops and they will do what they do best.

They will work this case – they will discover why this all happened.

They will do it, because it is all they know how; they will do it for Beckett. They will work it – for her.

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><p><strong>The next piece of the puzzle will be Lanie.<strong>


	2. Part Two: One Friend

Thank you for all of the reviews and alerts, you've brightened my little Castle-less world. Seriously it's going to be a long winter ... Today we have Lanie's piece of the puzzle.

I don't own anything you recognize - I'm just trying to keep myself sane over the hiatus.

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><p><em>Her friend falls.<em>

_He holds her back._

**For Her**

**Part Two: One Friend**

Again, she stands and begins to excuse herself from the waiting room. Only one person acknowledges her movement and gracefully smiles towards her, the other two make no realization. One of them, the youngest in the room has her head resting on her grandmother's shoulder, her eyes closed, but Lanie knows she isn't asleep, Alexis' eyes flicker open for just a second – she sees that nothing has changed and her eyes close once more. She's just coping, she's breathing, she's watching, she's thinking. Lanie knows the feeling well, it's how she feels; it's a feeling of hanging on, coping for the people around you, coping.

For her.

For them all.

Lanie moves briskly down the quiet hospital corridor, her heels clicking on the linoleum beneath her, slowly she takes her friend's cell from her pocket and dials the number she has already dialled four times this afternoon.

The phone rings, once, twice, three times, then there's a click and for a moment Lanie thinks he might have answered, but again it's just a message. Cursing she presses the end call button, there are only so many times you can leave the same message, only so many times she can keep the emotions of the day out of her voice. Three times she's left a similar message for the man whom her friend seems to be dating, seems to be sharing her life with. Lanie sighs, she knows who her friend _should_ be sharing her life with, hell even the bodies she works with could see that there is something between Castle and _her girl_, well if they were alive, but even then.

She drops the cell back into her pocket and then reaches for her own, her finger hovers over the call button, she contemplates calling Javier, but at the last second doesn't. She knows where he has gone, he's gone with Ryan, he's gone to be a cop, to investigate, to work out why this happened and Lanie knows that there is more he knows and hasn't told her.

Leaning back against the sterile hospital wall she remembers yesterday. The way Javier disappeared for hours in the afternoon, arriving at her house late in the night, arriving and kissing the life out of her.

She remembers his face when she had found him sitting in the dark of her kitchen at five in the morning, this morning.

She turns back towards the waiting room, calling Javier won't help anyone now, he needs to do what he does best and so she will leave him to it. She will remain here, she will make sure that her friend gets the best medical care possible, she will stay here for her.

Silently she slips back into the waiting room, past the other person in the room, his eyes are open but he doesn't move to look at her. He doesn't move, he doesn't even seem to be breathing, Lanie knows he is of course, she's a doctor, she knows the difference between alive and dead and she knows not breathing equals dead. But as his face slowly turns to meet hers, she can see that breathing is hard for him. Everything is hard for him, but he is here for her, he's waiting for her, he's waiting for Kate to wake up.

Lanie has known Richard Castle for three years; she's watched her friend with him for three years. She's watched the laughter he's brought her, the annoyance, the fun, the support, she's watched all that he has brought her friend, all for her. Slowly she reaches out for Castle's shoulder, gently she places her hand on him, he doesn't say anything, he makes no comment. He just turns towards her, stares back at her, stares back at her with eyes that aren't sparkling like they normally do, he's lost his spark. Lanie wonders if that spark was there before Kate, or is it something that he has because of her, even for her.

His eyes flicker away from hers for just a second and Lanie takes this as her chance to step around him. She returns to her seat next to Alexis and Martha, she crosses her legs and stares forward. It is her turn to breathe, to watch, to think and to cope and she will do all four of these tasks.

Lanie will cope; she will make sure that they _all_ get through the next twenty-four hours – she will keep it together.

She will keep her eye on Castle, on Javier, on Kevin, on them all. She will do it because her friend can't – she will do it for her.

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><p><strong>Next time - Martha and Alexis.<strong>


	3. Part Three: His Women

Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews and all of the alerts, you made me laugh, smile and cry - this chapter is for you all.

I don't own anything you recognize, still just keeping myself sane.

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><p><em>The man they love calls a warning,<em>

_they watch him leap towards her,_

_they watch the two of them fall,_

_and they feel their hearts break._

**For Her**

**Part Three: His Women**

She can feel her granddaughter's head resting heavily against her shoulder, heavy with the emotion of today, heavy with worry, for her father, for her.

Martha knows that Alexis isn't sleeping, she isn't making her peaceful snoring sounds that Martha has become accustomed to. Her granddaughter is restless, she's worried and there are anything but peaceful thoughts in her head.

There's movement from a chair beside her, as Lanie stands from her seat and leaves the room. Martha smiles towards her, she wants to show her some reassurance, something to show that all of them are there for one another.

They are there for one person, one person who is laying in intensive care down the corridor, but for her, they need to be there for each other.

Slowly she allows herself to look towards her son, he hasn't said anything in hours, he's barely moved, nor has he looked at either of them. He sits opposite them, a haunted look on his face and she wants nothing more than to make it disappear.

She wants nothing more than to scoop her son up in her arms and hug him tightly, nothing more than to kiss him on the forehead and to be able to soothe his pain.

She longs for a time when this would be enough, a time where a mother's love could take all the pain away.

She wants to protect him, he is her son, it is her job to protect him. She wants to be the one to tell him that everything will be okay, but she can't – this isn't one of his books, they don't know the ending.

She's never seen him like this, she's never seen him so haunted, so broken, so devoid of hope. He's her Richard, her eternal child, her eternal optimist, the best storyteller she knows, he always has something to say – except now, he's broken and she doesn't know how to fix him, he's her son, she raised a good man, it hurts her to see him so broken.

She can't fix him now, the only one who can is a woman who Martha has a great respect for – Kate Beckett is strong, brave and independent, she's fearless and her son has fallen hard for her.

Martha has seen her son married twice, and although she'd never wish ill on both of his ex-wives, especially Meredith who gave her Alexis, neither of them were the kind of woman she would have ever picked for her son to fall in love with. But Kate is different, she's everything she's ever wanted her son to have and the way she's watched her son look at Kate – he's realized it too.

It's her only hope now that they haven't missed their chance and that their time hasn't passed them by.

It is family only that are allowed to be in intensive care, and as much as her son might wish, he and Kate aren't family – Kate's father hasn't left her side since she returned from surgery. He spent the length of her operation pacing the hospital corridors, Martha hasn't approached him just yet, she knows when to leave a man alone, but she's keeping her eye on him, for her sake, for Kate's sake.

From what has been said and from what remains unsaid, losing his wife nearly broke Jim and if he lost his daughter – **no**, Martha will not think like that, she will keep her thoughts positive, she will remain positive, for her, for her son, and as she feels her granddaughter's head move from her shoulder – she knows she needs to keep positive for them all.

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><p>Her eyes flicker open; she lifts her head from her Gram's shoulder. The same scene greets her. Her grandmother next to her, Lanie on the other side of her, she's just returned to sit back down and her father, her father sits opposite her.<p>

Her father, he sits alone, his large frame seems smaller than usual, his back is hunched and his hands hang listlessly beside his legs. They don't remind her of the hands that have held her when she has been sad, they aren't the hands she's seen type best-seller after best-seller, they look like the hands of a broken man.

She wants to go to him, she wants him to wrap her arms around her, the way he always has, the way he scared away the monsters under her bed. Her father has always been there for her, he's always been the person that she's needed and now he's hurting.

She's confused about all the events that have taken place over the last few days, she knows that someone escaped from court, she knows that he is now dead and as is the Captain, a man her father counted as a friend. She knows that Kate's father came to visit her father and she quickly excused herself from the room, she knows that all that has happened is tied up in what happened to Kate's mother and she knows that her father has gone out of his way to protect Kate, he disappeared in the middle of the night, for her.

He didn't come home on the night the Captain was killed, she doesn't know what happened – her father hasn't told her and she doubts he ever will, she's his daughter, he's protected her from the bad in the world and Alexis knows that it is something bad that has led them all here. Alexis won't ask questions though, this isn't the time – there are more important things to be done – taking care of her father for one. It's time for her to rise to the challenge; she needs to take care of her father, just like he has taken care of her.

Kate is going to need her friends when she wakes up; she's going to need them all while she's recovering and Alexis knows Kate's going to need her father – so she will take care of him for her. She rises from her chair and takes slow steps towards him, quietly she sits down next to him, she ignores the blood that stains his shirt and she wraps her arms around him. She is here for her father, just like he's been there for her; she's going to comfort him, because he's going to need to be there for someone else, someone who is very important to them all – she tightens her arms around him and holds on tight – they will all be okay – they will survive this.

They don't have a choice.

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><p><strong>We take a trip into the mind of Jim Beckett next.<strong>


	4. Part Four: Her Father

Thank you all once again for the lovely reviews and alerts, you've made me very happy. I hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations.

I don't own anything you recognize, I'm still just keeping myself sane, am I the only one who feels like Knockout was months ago?

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><p><em>He listens to her speak carefully, <em>

_she reminds him so much of her mother._

_There's a shout and she winces and _

_she reminds him of her mother _

_even more._

**For Her**

**Part Four: Her Father**

He hasn't had a drink in years – he's wanted one, hell the urge never goes away – but he hasn't let himself take a sip.

Right now he wants one more than he has in years, he can almost smell it, almost taste it, almost feel the glass on his lips, almost feel the liquid burn the back of his throat – a desperate attempt to take away the pain.

Scotch.

Scotch was his drink of choice – his painkiller, the way he made himself forget that his wife was taken so cruelly from him.

He can't remember – he doesn't want to remember how much he would have consumed. He'd lost track of how many bottles she'd thrown away, of how many times he'd lifted a glass to his lips, of how many times he'd woken face down and of how many times he'd gone back for more.

He doesn't know how many times she'd stopped him from doing something stupid, how many times his Katie was the adult and did for him, what he should have done for her – provided comfort.

He reaches out for her hand now, squeezing it tightly, there's no response, she doesn't move, she just lays there. Her eyes are closed tightly and there is an oxygen mask covering half of her face – a reassuring beep makes it's presence known every few seconds – the sound comforts him – it means his Katie is still fighting, she hasn't been swallowed by the darkness whole.

He lied to her when he told her he just slept badly in her first year out of the academy, the truth is he's had nightmares since she was a rookie cop and the nightmares haven't gone away – they've just been subdued. They don't come every night now like they did in the beginning, sometimes it's every couple of days, or weeks, or even months, but still he dreams of the worst happening to his daughter, to his Katie.

The worst dream is one that has her lying in the same alley where they'd seen his wife – her posture copies her mother's exactly, her body crumpled in the same way, it's that dream that he had vividly a few nights ago – when she'd called him to say that the man she believed knew something about Johanna's death had escaped from court.

He knows his daughter, he knows how brave she is, how determined she is, how she stares down whatever troubles her, how she doesn't flinch, she's tough and stubborn and she reminds him of Johanna more and more each day.

His wife believed that the truth couldn't hurt you – even that the truth was her weapon to wield – he wonders now what his wife would say about the truth. Katie's search for truth had led her to this hospital bed, had led her to pain – he wonders if this is his fault, if he should have tried harder to stop her, tried to do his best for her – but he knows that wouldn't have mattered - his daughter doesn't back down, no matter the consequences for her.

Carefully he reaches out for a small paper bag that has been resting on the table beside him; gently he releases her hand for just a few moments and opens the bag slowly. The nurse explained these were things that Katie had with her when she was brought into the hospital, there are only two items – one is Johanna's wedding ring, he takes the fine chain in both hands and runs it through his fingers, the ring catches one of his knuckles and he takes the ring between his thumb and forefinger, he closes his eyes and he can see Johanna's face on their wedding day, he can see her smile as he slipped the ring on her finger, he can see all the memories of a marriage cut too short, he opens his eyes as a solitary tear threatens to fall, he wipes it away with one finger and he places the ring on the bed beside Katie.

The second item is something that once belonged to him, a watch he received as a present from both Katie and Johanna for one of his birthdays. There is a story behind this too, the story being that both Katie and Johanna had picked this exact watch from a catalogue and had eagerly shown it to the other as the perfect present idea.

He remembers their identical smiles and laughter when they had recounted this story at his birthday dinner, he sighs remembering the moment he'd decided to give his daughter back the present she'd once given him – 365 days sober – for her he had left the watch in a box on her dresser – for her he'd written a note with two words – _thank you_.

His thoughts are interrupted by a noise from the corridor – there's a familiar face staring through the doorway, Jim is surprised he's taken this long to make his way to her side – he never considered he was the type of man to respect the rules, to abide by the family only policy – especially considering his reaction at the cemetery, his mother and daughter had had to pull him away from Katie.

Rick Castle stands there, he doesn't make any inroads to enter the room, he just stands there, staring. It's almost as if he's waiting for someone to tell him he can enter the room – that he's allowed to be beside the woman Jim knows he cares about. It isn't like the man Jim knows from the public world, he seems more like the man that his daughter has told him all about.

He hasn't changed his shirt – Katie's blood is still visible for all to see. Jim wonders if he has the same look that Rick does, if he looks as forlorn, as lost, as broken. The two men make eye contact for the first time and Jim cannot help but nod towards Rick, he does it for his daughter, he does it for her – having Rick beside her is something his daughter needs – rules or no rules, protocol or no protocol, none of that matters, she is all that matters and as Rick enters the room and sits down beside the bed – he knows he's made the correct choice – for her.

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><p><strong>There's one piece missing and I've left him for last for a reason - Castle is next.<strong>


	5. Part Five: Him

So here we have the final piece, the Castle piece. Thank you all for your reviews and alerts, I'd love to know what you think of this chapter.

I still don't own anything you recognize, just my imagination trying to keep me sane.

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><p><em>He knows that she is strong,<em>

_but as she speaks he's reminded of how strong,_

_she truly is._

_For a moment he's distracted,_

_he's noticed something no-one else has._

_There's little time for warning,_

_and then they are falling._

**For Her**

**Part Five: Him**

He stares, he stares anywhere, at anything, at something that has a chance to hold his focus.

Nothing captures his attention, nothing stops the images replaying vividly in his head, nothing stops the sight of her body crumpling, nothing blocks the memory of his leap for her, nothing blocks out her face, her eyes closing, his feeling of helplessness.

He sits still, his hands beside him, he doesn't know how long has passed since they were ushered into this room, he's wearing a watch, but even the simple task of lifting his wrist is too complex for him to bear.

So he sits.

He remains still.

His mind is anything but.

His mind wanders and wonders, he wonders about a time, years ago.

A time when he asked Esposito to retrieve him a file, a file that lead to more questions than what it did answers, a file that lead to something else entirely than what it promised. It claimed gang related violence was the cause of Johanna Beckett's murder, the truth was something else completely, a cover-up of a murder that had been committed by rogue cops, a murder committed by someone he had trusted implicitly, someone he'd called a friend, someone who had lost his life, to protect her.

He wonders why he asked to read the file, he wonders if it was for her, or if it was for him. Was it for his story? Or was it for her story? Was it because she was such a mystery, because she intrigued him so much that he had to know all that he could about her past? Did he want to know how someone like her had ended up where she did? Or, did he just want Nikki Heat to have a heavy emotional angle, an angle that tore the readers' hearts in two.

He wonders, and feels guilty. She'd once told him that she didn't want to know about her mother's murderer, that the thought of it made her feel nauseous - he'd suggested that she didn't want to fall down into the rabbit hole once again – he doesn't know how she feels now – he's pretty sure she can't feel anything – but he knows he's fallen down into a hole, maybe not a rabbit, maybe a black hole instead.

He doesn't know what his motivation was back then, the person he was then seems to be fading by the day, he knows now that nothing of what he feels or does for Kate Beckett is about the books anymore, it's all for her.

He didn't throw his glass at the poster of Nikki Heat because he was frustrated at Nikki, he was frustrated at Beckett, frustrated at her determination even in the face of great danger. He doesn't constantly follow Beckett around for Nikki, it is all for Beckett, for her, for Kate and, if he's honest it is for him too.

He wants to stand up, to shake himself from the black hole he's found himself in and race to her bedside, but guilt holds him back, his guilt at his poking around in her business years ago, guilt as to him not being able to protect her, guilt as to him not being able to stop her as Montgomery and her father had said he could.

His mind goes back, back to a phone call, back to a moment where things changed forever, back to a familiar voice, telling him that he'd been lying - that he knew more than they thought he did, a voice requesting him to come to the hangar, so that he could take her away.

There is still a bruise on his shin from where one of her kicks landed, where the heel of her shoe caught his leg, it remains there as a reminder of a night he's never likely to forget.

The bruise represents a silent car journey, a tearful conversation between them and a bereaved wife and children, another silent car journey and then a silent night. Neither of them spoke until morning, until light had beamed into her apartment, he'd risen from the sofa and had made coffee, she'd thanked him and then he'd left, sensing that she'd wanted to be alone.

In the time that had followed then and now, there had been questions, condolences, meetings and promises made.

Then there had been today.

He'd seen the glimmer of light, he'd seen it too late and before he knew it he was holding her in his arms, pleading with her to stay, pleading so that he could write them a better ending.

Suddenly there are arms around him, arms that hold on tight, and there's a face that looks up at him.

The face of his daughter.

Her eyes are red-rimmed and her expression is one of fear, but there is something else there, something else in his daughter's face that gives him comfort.

It takes a moment, but he sees it slowly, the something else is in her eyes – there's strength there, behind the pain, behind the worry, there is a look of determination, and for a moment that look pushes his guilt away, another emotion, one of pride in his daughter takes it's place.

He stares at her carefully, wondering where and how she became so sensible, so strong and he allows himself to take comfort in his daughter's strength, he kisses her forehead and rises from his seat, she looks at him with worry, but he simply clenches her hand, before he leaves the room.

He walks slowly, it doesn't take him long to reach the doorway of Kate's room, he watches as her father sits beside her. Jim holds a watch that represents more than what normal watches do, it represents a struggle that the two of them had, it represents pain as to a life cut short and it stops him in his tracks.

He stares into the room, he stares at her, at her pale face, her closed eyes, at the machines beeping and whirling around her, his mind begins to cloud with thoughts again, the strength he took from Alexis begins to fade and the guilt starts to return, it is then that Jim turns his head towards him and nods slowly, it is then that he cannot help himself and he steps forward and into the room.

He sits down quietly beside the bed, and reaches for her hand, he holds it carefully as if her hand might break, she doesn't move, but he holds on, he holds on for her, for him, for their story that deserves a happier ending.

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><p><strong>So there we have it, five parts - for her. I am thinking that we might need an actual "Her" chapter, so this may not be over, just yet ...<strong>


	6. Part Six: Her

So, there's another piece. The final piece of my hiatus project. I've loved writing this and I hope you've liked reading it. Knockout airs tonight in Australia so I think it seems fitting that this is posted today.

Thank you must go to my wonderful friend and TwitterSister Mali Bear's Buddy, who beta-ed this for me, your help is always appreciated.

Once again nothing is mine, still just counting down the days.

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><p><em>She can hear his voice,<em>

_she can feel his hands holding her,_

_and as her eyes begin to close,_

_a memory flashes back._

_She's cold and in his arms,_

_and then there's nothing,_

_nothing but blackness._

**For Her**

**Part Six: Her**

She startles awake, wincing as the drip from her IV pulls tight against her skin. Wincing as she braces for pain from her mid-section, the pain comes and she wishes perhaps that she hadn't asked them all to leave her alone tonight. Perhaps she needs the distraction of their conversations, of their faces watching her intently as if she is going to break.

She hasn't so far, at least not on the outside, on the inside however she's glad that her friends have left her an armed officer outside her door. She couldn't defend herself now, not even if she tried all of her best moves, moves trained and practiced over and over again.

She's startled again by a sound from outside her window, and for a second she regrets asking her father to leave the blinds open. She moves her head carefully and takes a peek out into the blackness. She groans as she curses inwardly, there's nothing out there apart from a small bird. She stares at it intently for a few moments, it is still and silent, taking refuge in the small alcove between the ledge of the window and the what, she presumes is a long drop to the ground.

It has been a week, seven days, that is all the time that has passed since Montgomery's funeral, and as she thinks of him she feels a wave of devastation wash over her. He gave up his life for her, he kept her safe for all of these years and no matter what happened to her mother because of what he did, she cannot find it in herself to blame him, she misses him tremendously.

She feels guilty and awful and heartbroken that he couldn't be buried in peace and that it was at his funeral where she was shot. It isn't the being shot that she is angry about, it's the _where_ she was shot that makes her angry. She doesn't think that anyone else would understand this, so she has yet to tell anyone.

However she's been told all kinds of things, Ryan and Esposito told her about the reactions from the Precinct, that even Karpowski had hugged the two of them and she wanted to make sure that Kate knew that she was thinking of her. They also told her quietly that there was nothing in Montgomery's office that yielded any new leads, they told her not to worry – they were on the case and they weren't giving up – ever.

Lanie told her about how she was desperately trying to call Josh while Kate was unconscious not knowing that Josh was one of the doctors who operated on Kate and saved her life.

Martha told her about her father and how he paced the length of her corridor while she was being operated on and how as soon as he could, he was by her side and in the three days that she was unconscious he barely left her and if he did it was only for a fleeting moment.

Alexis told her about her own father and how for a few hours she'd been terrified for them all. She also told Kate that she doesn't understand why all of this has happened, but that she doesn't need to know why, she's just happy that Kate is awake again. Kate thinks that there is something else that Alexis isn't telling her, but she decided not to press the girl – at least not yet.

Her father hasn't said much, he's simply been there beside her, he did tell her that Castle spent many hours wearing a shirt covered in her blood. Kate doesn't know if she finds that creepy or endearing – she settles for the moment thinking of it as a sign of their partnership. He also told her that neither of them spoke much to the other while they were waiting for her to wake up but when she did wake up for the first time, the look on Castle's face was priceless. Jim had described the look as going from broken to alive again.

And then there is Castle, and Castle, well, he's told her many things. He's told her about the elderly lady he made cry with happiness when he signed her copy of Storm Fall in the cafeteria, he's told her about the young nurse who left her shift early to retrieve her copies of both Heat Wave and Naked Heat from her apartment and eagerly presented them to him, requesting his signature. She'd also taken great joy in showing him her Amazon pre-order slip for Heat Rises. Kate has met this nurse, she came by with the food yesterday, and Kate could see that she was trying to be professional but she still seemed overawed. That made Kate laugh and, even though it hurt to laugh and it still does, she was glad of the distraction.

He's also told her that the first time she woke up, she made the least amount of sense she's ever made to him. He did tell her it was probably because of the breathing tube, but he teased her about it once, he covered his mouth with both hands and made crazy sounding noises. Kate is glad she doesn't remember that, but she did laugh at his acting skills, and delighted in telling him that she thinks his acting ability must have skipped a generation and gone straight to Alexis.

What Castle hasn't told her is how he ended up with a bruise on three knuckles of his right hand and why once, when they thought she was asleep, both Lanie and Esposito called him Slugger and Ryan and Esposito debated if fighting skills were passed from father to daughter, Lanie had finally ended that argument by saying that she would show both of them, the skills _her_ father taught _her_ if neither of them shut the hell up. Kate was glad of that, her face had been itchy and it would have been a dead giveaway if she'd moved while they were speaking – they'd know that she'd heard.

And what neither of them have spoken about is what he said in the moments after she'd been shot, he hasn't mentioned it and neither has she. It isn't like they have been alone much and in the few minutes that they have been, he's been too busy telling her about all of the people he's been charming while she's been laying in bed. There hasn't been a second of silence, he's been too busy filling the silences, she wonders if this is because he's scared of what she might say, or that he thinks she doesn't remember and he isn't going to say it again, now that she is conscious.

In Castle's defence, she appreciates the conversation, she appreciates the distraction, but she doesn't like being kept out of the loop, she will have to do something about that when she sees him next.

Both he and her father have been her most regular visitors, so much so that the nurse commented tonight that she had lost her sleeping guests for the night. Kate had smiled, she'd told both of them that they needed to go home and sleep in their own beds and that neither of them were allowed to come back until the sun had risen.

She turns again towards the window and notices the first shades of pink begin to stream across the sky, she smiles as she notices that her bird friend now has a friend of his own and the two of them take flight together and soon disappear.

She hears a small cough and she realizes that she isn't alone, Castle has returned, she rolls her eyes.

"Before you say anything," he begins, holding up one finger, "You said I had to be away until the sun rose, and I believe it is rising as I speak."

"Technicality." She replies as he sits down beside her, smiling at her as he does so.

"The sun will always rise." He adds, "That's one of life's great certainties. Unless the aliens come and attack us and our sun."

She rolls her eyes again, "Castle," she begins turning to face him, "shut up," she says with a smile. He's right though, the sun does always rise, and that is what she must also do, she must rise.

**FIN.**


End file.
